DEPTFORD — The former Kinsley Landfill may soon be a new source of solar energy. Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) is eyeing Kinsley as a possible solar farm after considering more than 1,000 former landfills and brownfields.

The farm would be part of the company’s Solar 4 All program, which aims to produce 42 megawatts of solar power on former dumps.

The site ranked at the top of a survey the company took of landfills and cleanup sites all over the state. Weston Solutions, the consultant responsible for the study, used 45 criteria to narrow down the options. Todd Hranicka, director of solar energy for PSE&G, said each site was judged by its size, location, community and the ease with which it could support a solar farm.

The move supports a mandate in the state’s Solar Act of 2012 to steer new solar farms away from agricultural land and onto polluted sites that would otherwise be unusable.

“It’s a pretty detailed list,” Hranicka said. “We get into some environmental issues and some community issues.”

Dan Edwards, president of Transtech Industries, the company overseeing the closure and ongoing maintenance of the landfill, said he looked forward to working with PSE&G on the project. Transtech and PSE&G have already worked together collecting methane from the site for energy production.

"We're happy with the process," said Edwards. "We have a way to go, and we're working through it very cooperatively."

He could not give specific details on the deal because nothing has been finalized.

The 140-acre Kinsley site is large enough to produce five to eight megawatts — enough energy to power 800 average-sized homes a year.

Representatives from PSE&G met with Deptford officials to discuss the idea. Mayor Paul Medany said the community would welcome a solar farm.

“The township is all for it,” he said. “Right now, for our purposes, the landfill is unusable. You won’t be able to build a structure on it for years to come. If they can make use of it and hopefully benefit the township, we’re all for it.”

The power company hasn’t made any formal plans for Deptford just yet. Hranicka said a more in-depth look at Kinsley should be finished in the next week.

“The study we commissioned was the first step,” he said, adding that work would not begin until early 2014.